“Dragons”: a Parisian exhibition tells behind the scenes of this great creative saga

“Dragons 3 : Le Monde caché” clôt la saga de DreamWorks. Harold le jeune Viking et son célèbre ami volant Krokmou tirent leur révérence avec un dernier film qui sort cette semaine. Une exposition parisienne revient en dessins sur les coulisses de la trilogie.Guided tour en diximages.

Almost ten years after the release of Dragons, the third and last part of the DreamWorks saga, Dragons 3: The hidden world, continues - and concludes - the adventures of his heroes.If you missed the previous two opus (and the two seasons of the series broadcast on Netflix) know that the heroes in question are a funny duo formed by Harold, a young Viking (in love with his girlfriend Astrid) and Krokmou, hisBlack dragon of the family of nocturnal Furies, who should soon meet love.Because behind the spectacular animated images, the Dragons saga is also an initiatory story on adolescence and its quest for emancipation.

Simultaneously at the cranks' release on Wednesday, February 6, a free Parisian exhibition returns to "the artistic epic" represented by the three films.Two hundred works are exhibited on nearly 400 square meters, including many originals.Jean-Jacques Launier, the director of playful art-museum, and Simon Otto, director of animation on the whole of the trilogy, agreed to comment on ten sketches and drawings which suggest the creativity deployed to give life toGentile monsters spitting fire and humans with cornus helmets from the island of Beurk.Guided tour.

"Among the many original drawings, it was specially produced for the exhibition by French Nico Marlet.We project on video on the big screen the sequence that was shot during the creation of the drawing.It allows us to see that even in an industry that uses digital technology a lot, there are also artists, like Nico Marlet, one of the greatest designers of characters (Character Designers) in the world, who participated in the creation of the characterHarold and some dragons.We hope that this exhibition will generate vocations with young visitors!"Enthuses Jean-Jacques Launier, the director of playful art-museum.

"Krokmou is the dragon I am most proud of," explains Simon Otto, director of animation on the saga.I consider him my baby.It represents my own relationship with the three cats who have gone through my life, and who have become partners, members of my family.A cat is a complex animal, to whom nothing can be imposed on.It’s exactly the same for Krokmou.I had the chance to create this character, who became famous, and adored all over the world.

We wanted Krokmou to be like a mammal, endearing, with a personality that would allow us to create a very intimate relationship with Harold.During preparations for the first film, I spent a lot of time drawing Krokmou to represent an animal that would be a bit like a black panther, both very dangerous and very attractive!The goal was to imagine a new dragon, different from all those we knew until then.»»

"When, after the success of Dragons, it was decided to make a second film, Dean Deblois, the co-director of the film, imposed a trilogy, in order to be able to correctly finish a story that he had started, recalls Simon Otto.He wanted a real end - which we discover in Dragons 3 - around the relationship between Harold and Krokmou, this young boy with a prosthesis (he lost his left foot during a fight) and this dragon whose tail of the tailis damaged.We, animators, had to tell Harold's life through several ages: baby, child, adolescent, young adult, and finally at 35, a process that is very rarely exploited in animation.How to age a character, and that the public continues to attach himself to him?We had to find, in all films, and until adulthood, the clumsy and tagged side that makes Harold's identity.»»

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"We were responsible for creating a world where all forms of dragons can exist, in order to reinvitate the collective imagination around these creatures. Et je pense que d’une certaine façon, nous avons réussi, parce que nous avons reçu de nombreux dessins d’enfants qui ont considérablement évolué au cours de ces dernières années : au début, nous recevions des dessins de dragons qui ressemblaient à ceux de Disney, puis les créatures sont devenues de plus en plus originales et élaborées»», constate Simon Otto.

"We have given life to twenty-five dragons," heroes "of the leading in the film, which speak, move, and interact with humans.At their side, around fifty “decor” dragons were also created. Nous avons pour cela mélangé les corps, les têtes et les queues imaginées, pour créer ainsi environ soixante-quinze dragons originaux»», détaille Simon Otto.

Jean-Jacques Launier: “In a video of the exhibition, Cressida Cowell, the British author of the series of children's novels how to draw your dragon, at the origin of the DreamWorks saga, says that his father was an environmentalist whospent months on a desert island in the north of Scotland, without electricity or phone.She began to write and illustrate small news inspired by this island which had really been invaded by the Vikings, a people who feared the dragons.All this inspired his novels.And the exhibition also shows this transmission and how imagination is a source of inspiration.»»

Simon Otto: “For the third part, the biggest challenge was to create a female, who brings something new and fresh, not just a white krokmou.The difficulty was to create such a wild animal and to make the public fall in love with it at the same time as Krokmou, to start considering a new irreversible path between dragons and men.A page turns in Dragons 3, and Harold, who has become an adult, must accept it even if it's painful.»»

Jean-Jacques Launier: "The exhibition also shows research drawings of the achievement of the Deblois himself: weapons, but also the Harold prosthesis, where we see the influence of Star Way. La saga est irriguée par l’expérience personnelle des réalisateurs, avec leurs douleurs et leurs pertes…»»

"In the first film, the Vikings face the dragons. Mais dans le troisième volet, ils vivent en fusion, puisque Harold a réussi à convaincre les humains de vivre en harmonie avec eux, jusqu’à porter des armures créées à partir de la mue des animaux !»» détaille Jean-Jacques Launier.